Return to Labyrinth
Return to Labyrinth is an original English language four-part manga sequel to the Jim Henson fantasy film, Labyrinth. Jake T. Forbes created and wrote the series, and Chris Lie was responsible for the interior art. The covers for all four volumes were drawn by Kouyu Shurei. The series was published by Tokyopop. Return to Labyrinth is a four-part series starting with Volume I that was released in August 2006. Volume II was released in October, 2007, and was while it was originally going to be subtitled Goblin Prince of the Labyrinth it was released solely under the Return to Labyrinth title. Originally planned as a three-part series, it was announced at the end of the second volume that the story would be expanded to four volumes. Volume III was released on May 12, 2009. The fourth and final volume of the series was released on August 3, 2010. The plot takes place around thirteen years after the events of Labyrinth and centers around Toby, who by this time has grown up into a teenager Synopsis 'Volume I' It has been over a decade since Sarah defeated the The Goblin King and rescued her baby half-brother, Toby. Jareth, the Goblin King, has watched as Toby grows up, secretly giving him everything he desired regardless of its attainability, propriety, or scale. Through the years, Toby noticed that his wishes were often fulfilled but never understood why, having no memories of his time in the Labyrinth. Jareth lures Toby into his Kingdom by having one of his goblins steal his homework, the theft prompting Toby to give chase. Toby finds himself in the Labyrinth, and has to navigate it successfully to reach Jareth’s Castle where he is told his homework can be found. On his journey, Toby meets a range of creatures, including the crotchety, wingless fairy Hana, her companion Stank and a small, cheerful goblin called Skub. In exchange for a promise that Toby will help her find her wings, Hana agrees to help him through the Labyrinth. As they approach the castle, they are confronted by a vicious, snarling water demon sent by the sorceress Mizumi to keep Toby from reaching the castle. Just as they escape from the water demon, Toby and his friends are confronted by the burly soldier Candlewic and dragged to the castle’s dungeons along with Hana and Stank. The focus of the manga briefly cuts away from Toby and his friends, and focuses on Moppet, a young girl who is the servant of the Goblin City's Major Spittledrum. Moppet is shown to live a hard life of constant toil, waking early in the morning to prepare Spittledrum's breakfast and meekly obeying his commands throughout the day. Moppet is shown to be confused as to her origin, and only has a memory of herself crying atop a heap of junk. Leading on from their capture Toby and his friends are all put on trial, and Spittledrum sentences Toby to execution for entering the Labyrinth without permission. Toby is saved at the eleventh hour by Jareth, who orders his release and invites him to a grand ball to be held in his castle the same evening. Many denizens of the Labyrinth and other kingdoms are present at the ball, including Mizumi, Queen of Moraine and her two daughters, Moulin and Drumlin. Mizumi approaches Jareth and draws him into a dance, calling him her fiancée and gloating over a victory she anticipates is soon to be hers. Moppet, Major Spittledrum's servant, is also present at the ball, her presence briefly causing Jareth to mistake her for Sarah. At the conclusion of the ball Jareth announces his abdication and proclaims that Toby is to be his heir. Jareth vanishes, leaving everyone present - most prominently Toby and Mizumi - in shock. 'Volume II' Volume II begins with a flashback sequence that shows Jareth in the aftermath of his defeat. Jareth is shown as being thrown off balance by Sarah's victory, and appears frustrated and hurt by her refusal of him. His powers start to wane, and as rumours spread that he has lost control of the Labyrinth the goblins threaten to revolt against him. Jareth travels to the Kingdom of Moraine to seek an audience with its Queen, Mizumi. Jareth requests that Mizumi create an ablation for him, and offers her the bargain that Mizumi will have both the Labyrinth and its king if he fails to win their wager. Picking up where the first volume left off, the second chapter of Volume II deals with the consequences of Jareth's abdication. Mizumi decides to stay in the castle with her daughters in order to help Toby deal with his responsibilities as the new Goblin King. Toby manages to slip away from the castle and wanders through The Goblin City, eventually coming across a building called The Museum of Toby which is full of items relating to his life. Toby encounters the museum's curator Professor Maelgrot, and is saved from his nefarious clutches by Moppet. Moppet tells Toby he is in danger and needs to leave, but Toby remains in the Labyrinth and starts his training for his role as King under various tutors. Toby is taught hoarding by Professor Glokensteal, drama by Professor Nymble, fencing by Sir Didymus and magic by Mizumi. During Toby's first lesson with her, Mizumi reveals that she and Jareth were once lovers who combined their powers and worked together, only for him to leave her and hide himself away in the Labyrinth. Secretly Mizumi considers Toby a poor student, and complains about him to Drumlin and Moulin. Mizumi tells her daughters to leave Toby himself alone, and ambiguously comments that they should ensure his friends do not interfere with her plans for him. Toby's new responsibilites as heir to the throne interfere with his quest to find Hana's wings, prompting Hana to go and search for them with Moppet's help. Together the two friends discover a locked door in a far tower of the castle, and manage to break in. They find a pretty, grandly decorated bedroom, and Moppet finds a music box that playes the tune to As The World Falls Down. ''Hearing the tune makes Moppet have a vision where Jareth is staring at her intently, demanding that she love him. Feeling deeply troubled by the room, Moppet attempts to leave only to find the door to the room has been locked, leaving her and Hana trapped. Drumlin is soon revealed to be responsible for trapping them in the room, and sets about destroying the entire tower to cause their deaths. Meanwhile, Mizumi takes Toby to the Ministry of Prophecies where they select a prophecy for Toby that will offer insight into his reign. Toby only hears part of the prophecy, leaving out a dangerous omen of things to come. When Toby and Mizumi return to the castle, Toby sees Moppet falling from the tower. Desperate to save his friend Toby magically extends his arms to catch Moppet, but she loses her mask in the fall, leaving her face exposed. Shocked, Toby instantly recognizes her as a younger version of Sarah. Elsewhere, two reptilian creatures in cloaks discuss a mysterious plot against someone of importance. The scene then cuts to Sarah, who is working at her desk when she hears a knock at her door. She goes to open the door, revealing that Jareth is on her door-step. 'Volume III' The volume picks up immediately after the end of volume II, dealing with the revelation of Moppet's similarity to Sarah. Drumlin is taken away to the castle dungeons for her attempt on Moppet's life, and Mizumi and Spittledrum sit Toby and Moppet down for an explanation. Mizumi explains that one of her powers is the ability to create ablations, beings that embody a stolen aspect of a living being. Mizumi reveals that Moppet is an ablation she created for Jareth as part of her bargain with him. Spittledrum then explains Moppet's back-story, telling her that she was kept prisoner by Jareth in his castle for many years before being taken to the junk fields and abandoned there. Jareth eventually discovered that Moppet had returned to the castle as Spittledrum's servant, and left Spittledrum with strict orders to give Moppet a specific peach should she ever refer to her imprisonment in the tower. Closing the meeting, Mizumi states that while she can return an ablation to its host doing so destroys the ablation. When Toby muses that he wishes to summon Sarah to the labyrinth so that Mizumi can make her whole again, Moppet objects and runs away. Moppet packs her bags and leaves the castle, taking the peach Jareth gave to Spittledrum with her. Meanwhile, in the human world, Jareth has gone to see Sarah. She fails to recognize him, but accepts his explanation that they know each other from the theater. Jareth mentions that he is producing a play in town, and suggests that she attends it. Later, Jareth stalks Sarah over the course of an ordinary day in her life, watching her wake up in the morning, go to work and go on a date with her boyfriend Tim in the evening. Bitterly jealous by the sight of Sarah with another man, Jareth leaves her and seeks out Cob, an exile from his Labyrinth. From him, he retrieves a tiny sliver of his own heart, which he had splintered off for safekeeping before his power began to wane. The power contained in the shard of his heart is as potent as ever, and he uses it to restore his powers. With a good portion of his magic restored, Jareth creates the Enigma Lain Theater in an outdoor park and sends Sarah a ticket along with a bouquet of flowers. Back in the Goblin Kingdom, Mizumi visits Drumlin in the dungeons. Though Drumlin apologizes, Mizumi tells her she is a liability and that she has to go "home." As Moulin watches from a hidden place, Mizumi reabsorbs Drumlin. Drumlin and Moulin, it is revealed, are ablations taken from Mizumi herself. Appaled by her mother's actions Moulin decides to go and warn Toby about her mother's plans for him, only to be stopped and imprisoned in a cage of ice by Esker. Shortly before Toby's coronation, one of the strange reptilian creatures seen at the conclusion of Volume II gets Toby's attention and presents him with a warning composed of unintelligible anagrams. Toby proceeds to his coronation. After a series of long, drawn out rituals, Toby goes through an ordeal where he has to locate the Pathfinder, the force believed to give its posessor control over the Labyrinth. During the ordeal, Toby realizes that he is the Pathfinder. The moment Toby is crowned Mizumi claims him as her possession, concluding the bargain she and Jareth made years before by taking possession of the Labyrinth and its King. Having power over Toby gives her some power over the Labyrinth, and she allowed her forces to enter the land and subjugate the goblins. The goblin army resists, but Mizumi's own forces quickly crush them. Candlewic aligns himself with Mizumi, and stabs Spittledrum in the back at Mizumi's order. Toby is thrown into an Oubliette, left helpless as Mizumi takes control of the Goblin Kingdom to enact her revenge upon Jareth. With her authority confirmed, Mizumi confronts Moulin in the dungeons and tells her that she and Drumlin were created to protect her from the painful feelings caused by Jareth's rejection of her. Considering Moulin a liability, Mizumi is about to reabsorb her when Esker interupts them and reports that Jareth has made contact with Sarah in the human world. The news angers Mizumi, who orders Esker to go to the human world and stop Jareth only to be told the Labyrinth is impassable. As killing an ablation will kill its source, Mizumi orders Esker to track down and kill Moppet, as killing her will kill Sarah. After an argument with Tim over attending the performance of Canticle of Dreams at the Enigma Lain Theatre, Sarah attends the show alone. 'Volume IV' The final volume of the series begins with Moulin's release by Hana, who melts the icy prison she was encased in by lighting a fire. Together, they set off to save Moppet from Esker. Meanwhile, Toby is retrieved from the Oubliette by Candelwic, who had been sent to fetch him by Mizumi. In the Junk Fields, Moppet has taken a bite of the peach Jareth intended for her. The peach sends her into a dream-trap where she imagines herself as Sarah, experiencing a ideal adolescense where her parents are still together and her mother mentors her in acting. Moppet is awoken from her sleep by one of Mizumi's water demons, who attacks her. Esker soon approaches her and is prepared to kill her when Moulin blasts him with a bazooka. Hana and Moulin trick Esker into entering the belly of his own water demon, which Moulin promptly freezes, leaving Esker trapped. Meanwhile, Mizumi is speaking with Toby in the castle. She proposes that they should combine their powers, and become more powerful than Jareth ever was. Indignant, Toby refuses her suggestion and demands to be released. Saying she cannot release him, Mizumi offers Toby another insight into her past with Jareth. Mizumi explains that she met Jareth at a ball and fell deeply in love with him, only for him to ultimately abandon her when he tired of her superficial nature. Mizumi begs for another chance, and in desperation pledges her word that she will never harm the Labyrinth in exchange for an oppurtunity to find Jareth's heart and regain his love. Jareth had hidden his heart in the Labyrinth, and despite searching for days Mizumi could not find it and lost Jareth for good. Having to keep her promise to Jareth, Mizumi convinces Toby to combine his powers with hers so they can save the Labyrinth. Seeing Moppet, Moulin and Hana on a precariously balanced piece of rock, Toby uses his and Mizumi's powers to save them. Moppet falls asleep again after being saved by Toby, returning to her dream world. To keep his friends safe, Toby seals them within a dome in the midst of the junk fields. Back in the real world, Sarah is attending the performance of Caticle of Dreams. She witnesses a puppet show that summarises her life to date, featuring the adventures in the Labyrinth Sarah has long since forgotten. With her memories rapidly returning to her, Sarah is confronted by Jareth who convinces her to return to the Labyrinth with him so they can build a new world together just for the two of them. They return to Jareth's world hand in hand. In her dream, Moppet gradually becomes aware that she is in an artificial world. She recalls exactly what happened to Sarah following her time in the Labyrinth, and her realization that she is in a dream allows her to return to reality. Strengthened by her experiences in the dream-trap, Moppet realizes that she has to save Sarah from Jareth as Sarah will not be able to resist him by herself. Moppet and her friends are released from the dome by Ludo, who roars to bring the materials that compose it crashing to the ground. Ludo is with Hoggle, and both of them greet Moppet warmly, interacting with her as if she is Sarah herself. As Moppet and her friends set out on their quest to save Sarah, Toby wanders through the passages in the Labyrinth, contemplating his situation. He finds a fountain in an ornamental garden, and stares into the water only to find Jareth staring up at him. Jareth mocks Toby for his failings as King. Jareth tells Toby to "grow up," and when an enraged Toby orders Jareth to get out of his life, his powers surge and tremors wrack the Labyrinth. Concerned by the display of Toby's powers visible in the distance, Moppet and her party make haste to find Sarah and Jareth. They reach a crossroads and Hoggle and Ludo part company with the others, hugging Moppet goodbye and wishing her luck. Toby - his eyes completely white as if he is possessed - returns to the castle and confronts Mizumi, his new forcefulness impressing her. Toby outlines his plans for the Labyrinth, saying he wishes to tear down its existing walls and build it anew. Sarah and Jareth and both together in a blank world, completely without detail or definition, Jareth quashes Sarah's doubts about staying with him, telling her about the magnificent world they will create together. They remain there, the world gradually constructing itself as Jareth continually soothes Sarah's worries. Jareth and Sarah both follow Moppet's movements towards them, however Jareth remains confident they will remain safe in their world. Overcoming a series of obstacles that block their way forward, Moppet and her party eventually find themselves in a portrait gallery. Moppet sees herself as a young child in one of the frames, running through a river as a sinister hunter observes her from the bank. Moulin sees various representations of her mother's regret, and as Moulin looks at her mother's image it suddenly starts to move and Mizumi pulls herself out of the frame and confronts her. Mizumi traps Moppet in a water bubble, and after finding that her ability to feel regret has been restored kills Moulin, as a blood sacrifice was necessary to open the passage in the gallery that leads to Jareth and Sarah. Mizumi leaves the room and Moppet is released. While Moppet runs to Moulin's aid, it is too late to save her and Moppet leaves to face Jareth alone. However, the entrance to their world is blocked and Moppet and Mizumi are left without any means of getting through. Jareth and Sarah's new world is almost fully formed, and Jareth watches Sarah in satisfaction as she joyfully looks out onto the landscape she has been responsible for creating. Jareth draws Sarah into a dance, telling her of the pain she caused him and vowing that he will never let her go. Jareth leans close to Sarah to kiss her, but is interuppted by Moppet who has been able to enter their world due to her bond with Sarah. Back in the city, the goblins stage a rebellion against Mizumi's forces with a good level of success. Toby panics at the goblins' behaviour, and turns to Mizumi for help. Mizumi, however, is not troubled by the news of the rebellion and breaks off her contract with Toby, releasing him to do as he pleases. Toby goes to the goblins and begs for their allegiance, saying that while he cannot be their King he hopes he can be their friend. This pleases the goblins, however Candelwic - left in an arkward situation by Mizumi's withdrawl from events - attempts to kill Toby. The goblins shield Toby from Candelwic, and Toby manages to knock him unconscious before he can attack. In Jareth and Sarah's fantasy world, Moppet tells Sarah that the Labyrinth is collapsing and that it needs her and Jareth to return to it. Jareth is indifferent to the news, however Sarah persuades him to return them to the Labyrinth. Sarah and Moppet link hands and once again become whole, restoring Sarah's dreams to her. Jareth asks one thing of Sarah before he grants her request - a kiss. Jareth quickly saves the Labyrinth with a single piece of magic, and is persuaded by Toby to release his sister and return them both to their own world. The manga ends by making Jareth Goblin King once again, and showing a Sarah who is once again in touch with her dreams. Reception The ''Return to Labyrinth series received largely postive reviews. In a review of Volume I of the series, A.E.Sparrow of IGN wrote that "It would be easy for this book to rest on the history of the movie, but it doesn't. Several intriguing new characters are introduced, including an obvious love interest for Toby, as well as an enterprising young exiled fairy. You're going to like these new characters, and hopefully you'll appreciate just how hard it is to introduce them into a cult classic like this and get diehard fans to accept them."[http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/732/732053p1.html IGN Return to Labyrinth Review] While noting that Volume I was "fresh and exciting," the anime blog felt that "the artwork takes some time to warm up to."[http://www.theanimeblog.com/manga/manga-reviews/return-to-labyrinth-manga-review/ The Anime Blog Return to Labyrinth Review] Return to Labyrinth Volume III was reported by The New York Times to be the fourth best-selling manga of the week commencing 22nd May 2009.New York Times Graphic Novel Bestseller List References Category:Return to Labyrinth